With no breakthrough in sight, President Donald Trump will argue his case to the nation on Tuesday night that a "crisis" at the US-Mexico border requires the long and invulnerable wall he's demanding before ending the partial government shutdown.

The talks over ending the shutdown have been at an impasse over Trump's demand for the wall. He has offered to build the barrier with steel rather than concrete, billing that as a concession to Democrats' objections. They "don't like concrete, so we'll give them steel," he said.